Ultimately, Qi Yu couldn't sway Yue Zhiyin and was forced to accompany him to provide protection.
As Qi Yu sat cross-legged, preparing to guard him, she had already made up her mind.
If her disguise were to be revealed on the spot, she would definitely drag Yue Zhiyin's disguise down with her.
The "Fake Yu Pavilion Master" was trapped within the formation, her mouth gagged and her body bound.
Qi Nian and Sui You guarded the north corner.
Chi Ming and Qi Yan guarded the south corner.
The remaining Ming Lou and Feng Mingqi guarded the east corner.
Qi Yu and Yu Zhen were positioned in the west corner to guard.
Li Yu, Si Qing, and the High God Huai An watched from outside.
Yue Zhiyin sat in the center, facing the "Fake Yu Pavilion Master," chanting incantations.
Soon, the formation where everyone was seated lit up with blinding light, and the "Fake Yu Pavilion Master's" face grew increasingly pale.
After the light subsided, the formation remained lit, but the "Fake Yu Pavilion Master" showed no dragon aura or dragon clan markings.
Yue Zhiyin snorted, wearing a "I knew it" expression. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a gasp from Yu Zhen beside him.
Everyone turned to look.
They saw that dragon clan totems were faintly appearing on Qi Yu's face, and she was exuding a very strong dragon aura.
Yu Zhen's mouth opened and closed.
Yue Zhiyin stared at her blankly.
Ming Lou's mind went blank.
Qi Yan remained silent.
Chi Ming blinked, "Why did Junior Brother Qi Yu light up?"
Sui You's gaze was dazed as he looked at Qi Yu.
Si Qing, Feng Mingqi, and the High God Huai An all wore expressions of amused observation.
The three of them, in rare harmony, stood together, munching on melon seeds.
"...The reason why dragon clan totems appeared on my face is a long story." Qi Yu had already known when she sat down to prepare for the protection that the Yu Pavilion Master disguise would likely not hold.
Therefore, to prevent the disguise from being wasted, Qi Yu decided to take the initiative.
She closed her eyes, and her body gradually changed. Her cold, pale skin receded, transforming into the appearance Yue Zhiyin had first seen the Yu Pavilion Master in the Dragon Palace.
Yu Zhen's mouth twitched, "No, wait a minute, let me sort this out."
She was starting to doubt her life: "Qi Yu, you are the Pavilion Master of Yu Qing Pavilion? So you've been running between both sides at the Bei Yuan Sect all this time!?"
Yue Zhiyin and Sui You wore expressions of mortification.
They suddenly remembered... the incident of gifting gifts to their junior brother on Buzhou Mountain.
Qi Yu pursed her lips, her feelings complex, "You guys have to believe me, I actually had no choice..."
Sui You's face turned crimson, his gaze towards Qi Yu very complicated, "You, so..."
He... he had met that little demon on Buzhou Mountain and given it that feather...
Qi Yu nodded to Sui You, "It was me."
Although she understood that Sui You might be feeling awkward right now.
Yu Zhen put her hand to her forehead, "No, wait, I'm still confused. So, Qi Yu, you... you just watched me expose my demon lord identity and drop my disguise in front of you like that?"
"Oh dear," Qi Yu sighed, "If I didn't watch you drop your disguise, what else could I have done? I couldn't have dropped mine along with you..."
Yue Zhiyin rubbed his temples in silence.
"Eldest Senior Brother, you shouldn't hide it anymore either," Qi Yu patted Yue Zhiyin's shoulder, "The former Crown Prince of the North Sea, and now the Dragon King of the North Sea, your true dragon form is actually quite handsome."
Yue Zhiyin was utterly mortified, "Qi Yu... so you knew I was a dragon all along? You deliberately extorted so much gold from me in the Dragon Palace, and you even..."
"Eldest Senior Brother, you have to let me explain about the gold." Qi Yu wore a sincere expression, "Look, I grew up alone and lonely, so poor, always getting bullied. I was really short on money back then, so I asked you for gold, truly."
Yue Zhiyin fell silent.
Qi Nian watched from the side for a long time. After everyone had finished talking, he slowly turned to Qi Yu and asked, "So, Junior Brother Qi Yu, are you a junior brother or a junior sister? Are you male or female?"
Qi Nian's question hit the nail on the head for everyone.
"...Why are you all so superficial? Why do you only care if I'm male or female? With this level of cultivation, isn't it easy to change to a male or female appearance?" Qi Yu said with a serious expression.
Qi Nian didn't buy it, "There's no helping it, that's just how we are. So, are you male or female? Don't tell me you can change your form, I want to know if you chose male or female when you cultivated into human form!"
Qi Yu smiled, "Of course it's... male. I just like to cross-dress when I'm controlling Yu Qing Pavilion!"
If she were to reveal her female identity now... it would be difficult to manage her other disguises in the other realms if they were seen.
After all, in her other disguises in the other realms, she was female, and those disguises were different from the Yu Pavilion Master and Ming Cang Lou.
She hadn't put much effort into changing her appearance for those disguises, making them too similar to her female form. She had also used those disguises to trick Senior Brother, Senior Sister, Si Qing, Feng Mingqi, and the others out of a lot of gold and benefits!
The more she thought about it, the more regretful she became.
Hearing Qi Yu's insistence, Qi Nian narrowed his eyes and, like Yue Zhiyin, was convinced she was lying.
But Qi Yu was desperately protecting her female disguise, even resorting to claiming she cross-dressed. They couldn't directly strip her clothes, so she and Yue Zhiyin had no evidence.
Si Qing couldn't help but cover his face, "Stop bullying my brother. He's really not a girl, he just has some peculiar habits. In my opinion, isn't the most crucial and surprising thing right now that Eldest Senior Brother Yue Zhiyin is actually the Dragon King of the North Sea?"
Qi Yu glared at him fiercely.
But considering he was helping her protect her disguise, she forgave him.
Hearing this, everyone's attention was immediately drawn away.
Sui You looked at Yue Zhiyin silently, "No wonder you hated sparring with me so much when we were cultivating in the sect. Dragons really dislike fire."
Especially his fire.
"That's right, it is indeed so," Yue Zhiyin cleared his throat and regained a serious demeanor, "Alas, since our identities are exposed anyway, as the Eldest Senior Brother, I invite everyone to the North Sea Dragon Palace for a seafood feast!"
Ming Lou cheered first.
As a feline belonging to the Winged Tiger clan, a seafood feast was extremely appealing to him.
Chi Ming and Qi Yan had no objections.
Although Sui You disliked the cold seawater of the North Sea Dragon Palace, he felt he could tolerate it when he thought about the food.
Yu Zhen, Li Yu, and the High God Huai An naturally wouldn't refuse.
Qi Nian eagerly agreed, pulling Qi Yu along.
Qi Yu nodded, shed her female attire, and changed into the white robes of a graceful young master.
Her feet, clad in pure white boots, lightly stepped on the "Fake Yu Pavilion Master" who was bound in the center of the formation. She lifted her chin with the handle of her fan, "Eldest Senior Brother, it's not too late for the feast, but what's most important for us now is to obtain the top-grade immortal product Myriad Spirit Pill... and..."
"To find out who is the one who instructed this little demon to impersonate the Yu Qing Pavilion Master and pretend to defect to me."
The "Fake Yu Pavilion Master," who had been lying listlessly in the formation, as if resigned to her fate, suddenly tensed upon hearing this and struggled to shatter her own heart, attempting suicide!
Yue Zhiyin's expression changed drastically. Before he could even reach out, he saw Qi Yu lift the "Fake Yu Pavilion Master" with one hand.
From her ankles upwards, the "Fake Yu Pavilion Master" slowly turned blue and purple, frozen by the frost rising from the ground. Her cultivation was forcibly sealed within her dantian by Qi Yu.
The "Fake Yu Pavilion Master" struggled desperately.
"Come on, tell me," Qi Yu stared coldly into her eyes, her voice laced with bone-chilling coldness, "Who is the mastermind who instructed you to impersonate the Yu Pavilion Master? Will you tell me yourself, or shall I break your legs piece by piece to force it out of you?"